Tim's Two Cents-December 21

It's time to take a look at the big stories from this past weekend.

1. Dallas Cowboys Spoil Saints Bid for Perfection.  In what was the major upset of the weekend, the Dallas Cowboys ended the New Orleans Saints perfect season in a 24 to 17 win.  Now I must admit, I, along with several other experts did not see this coming.  I called the Cowboys a joke of a team in my Two Cents column yesterday.  This was a game where everybody and their mothers were picking the Cowboys to lose.  Good for them for proving us wrong.  We all thought there was good reason to pick against them due to their struggles in December the last couple of seasons.

Not only did the Cowboys win the game, but they got off to a fast start in doing so.  By halftime the score was 17 to 3.  They actually played solid defense from the start. DeMarcus Ware was a beast.  He had two sacks for a total of nine yards lost.  Orlando Scandrick had a team high eight tackles.  Dallas continued their first half success when Marion Barber ran it in from two yards out at the 8-minute mark of the third quarter to make it 24 to 3.  Fans at the Superdome didn't know what hit them.

The Saints made a push in the fourth quarter scoring two touchdowns to make it 24 to 17, but Drew Brees was sacked by DeMarcus Ware and fumbled with six seconds left dashing any hope of a comeback.  So that means the Indianapolis Colts are the last remaining team to be undefeated through week 15 at 14-0.  The Saints fall to 13-1.  Time for Mercury Morris of the 1972 Miami Dolphins to come out of hiding and put a curse on the Colts.

2. Chargers Beat Bengals to Clinch AFC West.  Phillip Rivers and company edged Cincinnati 27 to 24 thanks to a Nate Kaeding 52-yard field goal with three seconds left.  When the game was over they clinched a playoff berth, but had to wait and see what would happen between the Broncos and Raiders.  When Oakland scored a game winning touchdown at the end of the game, the Chargers were crowned AFC West champions.  The Chargers are now 11-3 on the season, have a nine game winning streak, and are 17-0 the last few years in the month of December.  One thing that shouldn't be overlooked is that the Bengals were very competitive considering the week they've been through. 

There's no place like home for the Lakers.
      
 3. Lakers and Clippers Both Dominate Over the Weekend.  The Purple and Gold finished a five game road trip with a 93 to 81 win against the Detroit Pistons yesterday.  They went 4-1 on the trip that included games at Utah, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Jersey and Detroit.  Their only loss came against the Jazz.  They now head home for a brief two game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Lebron James and the Cavaliers on Christmas Day.

The Clippers were also in the winning spirit suprisingly as they came out on top against the Philadelphia 76ers 112 to 107 in overtime on Saturday. 


Photo coutesy:
Wikimedia Commons and dbking under CC-BY License
Wikimedia Commons and Conman 33 under CC-BY License
Wikimedia Commons and JoeJohnson2 under CC-BY License